THE NORTH BRITISH LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY BETWEEN THE WARS.

The article examines the North British Locomotive Co.'s activities, especially between the wars. Though only a study of one firm, it throws light on some controversial issues in the industrial history of those years: on the extent to which a large firm in a vital British industry was in difficulties before 1914; on the extreme nature of the collapse of demand, especially in overseas markets, and of the unprofitability of the inter-war years and on how war, and the post-war boom, made the need for adaptation and change more necessary than ever, but postponed any immediate need to take action. The North British Locomotive Co. was formed in 1903 through the merger of three established locomotive builders in Glasgow: Neilson, Reid and Co.; Dubs and Co.; Sharp, Stewart and Co. The amalgamation dominated British locomotive manufacturers. Before 1914 its labor force was about one-half of all labor in the industry, and about one-third if the workshops of the railway companies are included. In the 1950s the Company encountered difficulties and was eventually forced into liquidation.